Apple Announces New Developer Day Passes for Mac Compatibility Labs

As noted by Macworld, Apple has launched a new day pass program offering access to the company's Developer Compatibility Labs for Mac OS X developers. The new day passes, priced at $99, offer users access to Apple's facilities in either Cupertino, California or Tokyo, Japan to test their software or hardware products with a wide range of Apple products to ensure compatibility.

The Single Lab Day Pass, as its name suggests, offers developers access to one of the labs - located in Cupertino and Tokyo - for one day, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. There are three separate labs at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, containing a truly enormous amount of Mac hardware, from recent versions of many models to older Power Macs, PowerBooks, and iBooks - they even have G4 cubes. Apple says it has more than 500 configurations on hand for compatibility testing, along with plenty of accessories and networking hardware.

A single pass is valid for up to ten attendees, all of whom must be registered Mac developers. Participants are of course also responsible for their own travel and lodging costs.

Access to the compatibility labs was previously restricted to members of the company's ADC Select and Premier developer programs, but with Apple simplifying the developer program and lowering the cost of entry earlier this year, the company has rolled out the new day pass program to allow a broader array of developers access to the facilities.